As Troop Reduction Is Announced, Dramatic Attacks Increase in Iraq
By Susie Madrak Sunday Mar 08, 2009 3:45pmAttacks continue to be directed against Iraqi police - and police recruits. I know American troops strongly resent them (see above video), since some of them abandon their posts under fire and so many of them have insurgent ties, but it's a thankless job few of us can imagine:
BAGHDAD, March 8 -- A suicide bomber on a motorcycle plowed into a crowd gathered at the entrance of the police academy Sunday, killing 28 and wounding dozens more.
Survivors recalled scenes of confusion and carnage in the bombing's aftermath, as ambulances tried to force their way through snarled traffic. Police fired in the air afterward -- either in confusion or, fearing a second bomb, to try to disperse people.
A bombing Dec. 1 struck the same academy, killing 15 people, and some survivors of Sunday's bombing expressed anger at how vulnerable they still were. Scores of men had gathered under a bridge near the entrance, in hopes of becoming recruits. Survivors said police had left them waiting in the street for more than two hours without word on possible jobs.
"We didn't know what as going on. They told us to come forward, then they pushed us back. Forward then back," said Ali Farraj, who had been trying to get admitted to the academy for three years. "They wouldn't tell us anything."
The assailant detonated bombs that were strapped to both his body and the motorcycle. The attack came in a fortified part of Baghdad that is home to the Oil Ministry and other military and government offices. The entrance to the police academy was protected with blast walls, but the crowd, standing about 20 feet away, was exposed to the traffic.
The explosion follows a car bombing at a livestock market in the city of Hilla, south of Baghdad, Thursday that left 12 people dead. Although the number of such attacks had declined significantly and is at its lowest level since 2003 and 2004, in recent weeks, there have been some dramatic attacks against U.S. soldiers and civilians.
Also Sunday, U.S. military officials announced that the American forces in Iraq will be trimmed from 14 brigades to 12 by September, a reduction of 12,000 U.S. forces. Four thousand British troops also will depart.
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Isn't it possible that it is indeed an insurrection and not interference from Iran?
To do any thing like that, when the SHIAS already won the elections.
Who benefits from this ?
Heck of a job booshie
You just gave Iraq to the Shia (Nouri al Maliki, Muqtada al Sadr and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad).
Just passed the "Hot Potaito" of IRAQ War to Obama.
He shouldn't go there in the first place.
To freed the IRAQUI people from Sadan (I meant from their OIL)
we are not the iraqi police and our soldiers should not
be used as such.
"Also Sunday, U.S. military officials announced that the American forces in Iraq will be trimmed from 14 brigades to 12 by September, a reduction of 12,000 U.S. forces. Four thousand British troops also will depart."
this is not a troop reduction plan. that is too slow and not
the promised two brigades a month. what the hell is gates
doing? he is fucking over the soldiers and the American
people that Pres. Obama promised to bring home our troops.
Has there been any mention anywhere about the 180,000 private contractors and when they will be withdrawn?
If there was I missed it.
when they don't have US forces protection.
As the US forces proper winds down, they will find pressing need to find employment elsewhere.
Not all of them are gun toting mercs, but all are targets for the insurgents and need professional heavy protection, ie air cover, tanks etc.
of reviewing our policies regarding the use of private contractors past and future.. guess there's only so much that can be done at once and I would prefer the administration concentrate on the economy But the private contracting aspect of Bush's wars should not be forgotten.. blatant cronyism, corruption and trafficing of third world grunt workers..
So we are still trying to tell Iraqis that we are there to help them form a democracy. They know its bullshit. The blood has been flowing since the US invaded Iraq and it will flow when and if they leave. So leave and get it over with. Iraq is screwed permanently. Now off to Afganistan and spread democracy there. You betcha.
so obviously more troops are needed there.
" American troops strongly resent them" gee I wonder if the Iraqi's strongly resent the American Troops..
one mans "insurgent" is another mans freedom fighter.
Was that a pep talk? I was never in the military so I wouldn't know. telling those guys to go for a march 3 kilometers away on foot in the desert to fight dudes with massive car bombs doesn't sound very easy to me. ( you want trucks you pussys, just pack up some water and food and take a walk you little girl spineless good for nothing Iraqi's)
Oh yes what a wonderful job.
winning more "hearts and minds" I see.
Get the troops out, let the Iraqis work it out.
Spend the money coming up with an alternative to oil.
Cut Israel loose.
The less visible the U.S. is in the Middle East, the better.
or the palestinians
funny...
guess that kind of visibility is ok
I wonder what the aid comparison between Israel and Egypt is?
I've often wondered how other nations would feel if a foreign nation invaded killing hundreds of thousands, tortured, destroyed the government, created anarchy, and then said well we gotta leave now cuz some of our people are getting killed. It's a no-win situation for Iraqis. The damage is done. Now they are being told that American lives are more important than theirs. Wonder how Americans would feel if the shoe was on the other foot.
Justice should be done. Bush and his band of crooks should all be arrested and brought to trial for crimes against humanity. Healing will never start until justice is served.
I noticed the Iraqi's din't have bullet proof vest armored vihicles,radio men etc. And if I remember correctly being an Iraqi policeman is a pretty dangerous job
Yeah... despite ten billion a month, there's not enough $$ to provide the poor bastards with armoured Humvees, command and control centers, heavy weapons, etc.
way to win hearts and minds
if the police really were in the militia, would they give a shit if an american was curing at them and calling them pussies?
if thier werent deaths involved here it would be funny that anyone actually thought iraq was finnished!the bribe moneys running out ! the double crosses are just begging !!1 enjoy the thoughtfull withdrawl of iraq by obama bwwwwhaa haa ha
That was the problem with Bushco's adventure in Iraq. They will greet us with hearts and flowers; and when that didn't happen, they had squat as a back-up plan. And the military let them get away with that; there should have been a coup. No military goes into that kind of situation without an end game.....oopps guess not.
Oh yeah, break America financially.
It was a good plan and I'm relatively certain that all terrorist factions have adopted the same strategy. The idea of us pulling out means we won't be spending as much money to fight a pointless war.
So...terrorists are now trying to goad us into staying.
I pray Pres. Obama is smart enough to not take the bait.
I think it is an attempt by the radical Islamic factions in Iraq to discourage any type of withdrawal. As long as American forces keep boots on the ground in a police capacity it further weakens our country militarily, financially and morally. Their goal is to spill as much American blood and drain as much American treasure for as long as possible. The Bush Administration played right into their hands with the occupation of Iraq, they were too arrogant to admit they had fell into that trap and tried to turn into some sort of advantage. All the while thinking they would win the bears' share control of the world oil supply. They underestimated the patience and the will that is characteristic of Islamic cultures. When the Bush Administration was planning the invasion and occupation, I doubt they even knew there were two different Muslim Sects to be considered. Two sects that resulted from a split over a 1000 years ago. They can live, eat, breath and sleep attrition. Dick Cheney and George Bush put our country right in the middle of that. Al Qaeda sat back a watched our Government dig the hole, waiting for the right time to fill it in. The Iraqis are going to have to learn how to fight for what they want on their own. The withdrawal is thankfully beginning, no matter how small or how large...it is beginning.
and in the comeing weeks , months, days, the new headlines will read ,thanks obama for inlargeing the war in afganistan with the troops we saved from iraq......and the bullshit goes on! and on and on and on and .....well you get the picture.... eh!!!!!and the opposition grows larger and larger ...... then its .... now write this down .... outside forces grow in strenghth in afganistan ! realitys a bitch and shes got a sister !
is that we hear NOTHING of this in the media. Octomom? Every goddamn day, all day. And Fox News makes up bullshit about "war on success." This war should be 80% of the news every day until it's finished; that's a miniscule degree of shared sacrifice.
Nothing in the media, Mr. CFAmick? How did U learn of it? I've heard this story on BBC radio and read it in the pages of the NY Times and of course, this blog.
Watch CNN HLN. It's mindnumbing.
Right out of "How To Win Friends and Influence People."
When you use the army, an organization whose objective is, on command, to kill and destroy, to train police, and worse police in a foreign nation, and you expect what result? Success?
Give me a break.
The U.S. Soldier is way out of line.
The soldier's feelings about the situation may be justified, but what he's doing is more about him and nothing about helping these people.
You go, uninvited, into someone's home, and start telling them what to do, and you want cooperation? Worse, you start insulting them?
What a joke.
The arrogance and utter vulgarity of this tirade is chilling and shows me how the rest of the world sees my country's emissaries for what they are. American-capitalist- trailer trash values at their best with no inkling of anothers culture or worldview. Blunder in, decimate the populace and economy and then expect them to tow our line. This is nauseating to view.
by bush and cheney. they made this civil war possible. it's blood on their hands. Americans are sick of being in iraq and spending 10 billion dollars a month there when our own economy is tanking. there is probably going to be horrible bloodshed after we pull out of iraq because iraq has not yet been able to solve the sectarian issue it has lived with since mohammed when the world of islam split into the sunni and shia sects. this issue has never been solved but it will be now. and that's not going to change whether American troops are in iraq or not. so, if you want to thank some one for making this all possible, thank bush and cheney.
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